Comments Off on Australia experiences record-setting, summer-like heat even though winter is coming

It’s autumn in Australia , but you might not be able to tell from the weather . Record-breaking heat has gripped large swaths of the country — the government’s Bureau of Meteorology said Sydney, Adelaide, and other locations have hit the “hottest or equal-hottest April days on record.” We have published a Special Climate Statement exploring the highly unseasonal hot spell experienced by much of Australia at the start of April. More at https://t.co/jHCzg7hb3c pic.twitter.com/Yg2uQHeOqj — Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) April 13, 2018 Persistent heat in Australia prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to release a Special Climate Statement : a 22-page document delving into detail about record-setting temperatures across the country. In a media release about the climate statement, the Bureau of Meteorology said during the first week of April, the heat affected primarily northwest Australia. Then the hot spell moved southeast, impacting New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. All those states set April temperature records. Related: Rise of just 0.5 degrees C in India has already resulted in deadly heat Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Blair Trewin said the heat’s extent was exceptional, saying in the statement, “The heat had been building up in northwestern Australia since monsoon rains ended in mid-March. Northwesterly winds then brought the hot air mass southeast at the start of this week, which is when we saw the impacts on South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales.” The climate statement described conditions as as abnormally warm, and said the heat was more in line with what a person might expect in mid-summer, not mid-autumn. The statement said the heat “was unprecedented in many areas in April for its intensity, its persistence, or both.” Is climate change responsible for the heat? The Bureau of Meteorology didn’t say, in the statement or the media release. The climate statement pointed back to past notable April heat events in southeastern Australia, which occurred in 1922, 1938, 1986, and 2005. But the heat could be a preview of coming attractions, according to Mashable , which said extreme events such as this one could be more regular in a world impacted by climate change. + Special Climate Statement 65 — persistent summer-like heat sets many April records + Bureau of Meteorology Media Release Via Mashable Images via Depositphotos ( 1 , 2 )

Comments Off on Scientists discover first salty lakes in the Arctic and they could be a key to finding alien life

Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered extremely salty subglacial lakes buried beneath 1800 feet (550 meters) and 2460 feet (750 meters) of ice in the Canadian Arctic . This extremely unusual find offers scientists a glimpse into how similar environments on other planets and moons function – and could help guide their search for extraterrestrial life . Ph.D.student in radio glaciology Anja Rutishauser made the incredible discovery while studying the bedrock conditions found underneath the Devon Ice Cap, one of the Canadian Arctic’s largest ice caps. “We weren’t looking for subglacial lakes ,” Rutishauser told ScienceDaily . The ice is frozen to the ground underneath that part of the Devon Ice Cap, so we didn’t expect to find liquid water.” Rutishauser initially noticed something unusual while studying airborne radar data acquired by NASA and the University of Texas Austin. “We saw these radar signatures telling us there’s water, but we thought it was impossible that there could be liquid water underneath this ice , where it is below -10C.” Related: The world’s biggest Arctic lake isn’t as resistant to climate change as scientists thought The Devon lakes are the first subglacial lakes to be discovered in the Canadian Arctic as well as the first hypersaline lakes found on Earth. “We think they can serve as a good analog for Europa , one of Jupiter’s icy moons, which has similar conditions of salty liquid water underneath — and maybe within — an ice shell,” said Rutishauser. This similarity to lakes found on other planets may shed light on how life on other planets may exist and function. “If there is microbial life in these lakes, it has likely been under the ice for at least 120,000 years, so it likely evolved in isolation. If we can collect a sample of the water, we may determine whether microbial life exists, how it evolved, and how it continues to live in this cold environment with no connection to the atmosphere.” Via CBC and ScienceDaily Images via Martin Sharp and Depositphotos

Comments Off on March for Science hits DC and over 200 other cities around the world tomorrow

Around 1.3 million people participated in March for Science rallies all over Earth last year, according to New Scientist . Concerned over the incoming United States administration’s climate change denial and anti-science overtures, marchers turned out in droves — and tomorrow many people will take to the streets again. Here’s what to expect, and how you can get involved. The 2018 March for Science takes place April 14 in Washington, D.C. , and in hundreds of other locations around the world. Their mission is “robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good, and for political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest.” Not just scientists marched last year — one quarter of attendees said their job wasn’t in a scientific field, according to New Scientist. They just cared about science. Related: The funniest signs we spotted at the March for Science Since the 2017 March for Science, New York City march co-organizer David Kanter told New Scientist more scientists than ever ran for political office. Activism made a difference in science funding, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists Center for Science and Democracy deputy director Michael Halpern. New Scientist said Congress’ 2018 spending bill included more funding for research. Organizers estimate this year’s march won’t be as large as last year’s. Fear over what Donald Trump’s administration might or might not do motivated many people to show up in 2017. March for Science interim director Caroline Weinberg told The Washington Post , “People are definitely still motivated, but it’s coming across differently. Their behavior has been adjusting. What we’ve seen is a huge uptick in people taking action in other ways — signing petitions , making calls, sending letters.” But there are still reasons to march. Kanter told New Scientist, “The reason we’re still marching is that the goal of the march — use of evidence in policy-making — still isn’t being fulfilled in our politics today.” Halpern agrees. He told New Scientist, “They’re marching because they see EPA administrator Scott Pruitt go against his scientific advisers and fail to ban chemicals shown to cause damage to children’s brains. They’re seeing people at the Department of the Interior kicked out of their jobs [working] on climate change.” Find out how to get involved on the March for Science website . + March for Science Via New Scientist and The Washington Post Images via March for Science